now he comes to us with an american oracle, the civil war and the civil rights era, which brings this nuanced exploration into the 20th century. as we approach the sesquicentennial of the proclamation, wait brings to light how american writers brought their own perspectives to bear on the centennial of the war. how they grapple with the issues it raised unhealthy influence public number and commemoration of the word to varying degrees. the four writers from the southern novelist and essayist, robert penn warren to recant his view of the civil war is a lost cause midwestern historian bruce cotton causes her to norman rockwell come in part because his capacious works on the civil war were widely read at the middle of the century. northern utes in literary critic, edmund wilson looked at the war in terms of its own pacifism, often neglect in the role of race in it in the northern negro novelist james baldwin who is the most acute essayist and tinker in the american psyche hands down working at that time. blight said that all four, and i quote, are geared to say with america's tendency to